Texas Water Board details how it will spend $1 billion for water infrastructure projects
About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base. Full Story
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![Director of the Program Administration and Reporting division of the Texas Water Development Board’s Water Supply and Infrastructure Department Marvin Cole-Chaney speaks to the water development board Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
CenterPoint CEO promises improvements as Texas scrutinizes company’s Beryl response
Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response. Full Story
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![CenterPoint President and CEO Jason Wells addresses the Public Utilities Commission
at a hearing in Austin on July 25, 2024. The energy company proposed action plans for improved customer communication and restoring power quickly in future outages.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
In Beryl’s wake, heat-related Texas deaths climb after millions left without power
So far, 23 people have died after Beryl made landfall on July 8. Full Story
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![Janet Jarrett holds a photograph of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, at the home they shared Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. Pamela Jarrett passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)]()
Credit: AP Photo/Michael Wyke -
A federal utility assistance program favors cold-weather states, giving less money to hot places like Texas
The program helps low-income people with heating and cooling bills, but advocates say it disadvantages Texas and other warm-weather states, even though extreme heat is a key cause of weather-related deaths. Full Story
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![Workers remove an AC unit from Paola Valdez-Lopez's mobile home in order to tow it out of Congress Mobile Home Park in Austin on Aug. 29, 2022.]()
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Residential solar is growing in Texas amid worries about reliable power during events like Hurricane Beryl
In Harris County, more federal money is available to help low- and moderate-income residents install rooftop solar. Full Story
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![Solar panels can be seen on the roofs of homes Sunday, July 7, 2024 in East Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas cities look to alternatives for water
Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region's most populous cities are getting innovative. Full Story
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![A crew works on upgrading pipes and valves at a North Alamo Water Supply Corporation water plant in Donna on Thursday, July 18, 2024. In order to increase the amount of water the plant is able to distribute, pipes were upgraded and replaced, connect to the plant’s existing facility with the newly expanded infrastructure.]()
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Why Texas’ mass power outages continue to happen
Repairing electricity infrastructure after storms usually costs customers. So could strengthening it before the next weather event. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas school built to segregate Mexican American students becomes a national park
The school is in Marfa, about 45 miles east of the U.S.-Mexico border. It was closed in 1965 with the integration of the Marfa school district. Full Story
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![The Blackwell School in Marfa was the only public school for the city's Hispanic students from 1909-1965.]()
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After three citywide water outages, Odessa will invest $25 million to fix infrastructure
The Odessa City Council approved the budget to replace nearly 200 water valves and 17,000 feet of pipe. Full Story
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![City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work through the night as they attempt to repair a broken water main Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, repairs were completed around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.]()
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With new legislation, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn aim to pressure Mexico to send water to Texas
Mexico owes Texas 900,000 acre-feet of water. But a regional drought is complicating the binational agreement. Full Story
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![Large amounts of dry lakebed surround the shoreline of the Falcon International Reservoir in Starr County on May 15, 2024. Water levels at the reservoir are at historic lows. On the 15th of May the water level was at 8.8% full. The Falcon Reservoir straddles the border between Mexico and the USA in deep south Texas and is the primary source of water for the Rio Grande Valley which has an estimated population of 2.67 million. 1.3 million people south of the Rio Grande and 1.29 million north of the international border.]()
Credit: Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via Reuters -
Houston property insurance is already expensive. Hurricane Beryl will make it worse.
Insurance researchers and analysts expect insurers will continue raising already high premiums — and become more selective with what type of damage they cover. Full Story
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![Mohammed Durvesh looks at the tree debris from tropical storm Beryl in front of his in Sugar Land home on Monday, July 8, 2024.]()
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Texans heading into a second week without electricity are battling heat, frustration and boredom
More than 200,000 CenterPoint Energy customers without power struggle with the heat one week after Hurricane Beryl swept through southeast Texas. Full Story
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![From left, Olga Minez and Gabriel Leal grill burgers for dinner on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at Aldine in Houston, Tx. In order to make the blackout more manageable, the couple and their five children have been using a generator left over from the previous year’s blackout.]()
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Abbott reprimands CenterPoint and calls for an investigation into the utility’s response to Beryl blackouts
Abbott demanded that the utility company produce a plan by the end of July outlining how it will improve power reliability ahead of future storms. Full Story
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![From left, front row: Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale hold a press conference at Gallery Furniture in Houston to address the restoration of power in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, on Sunday, July 14, 2024.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
“Get back up and go”: CenterPoint linemen take on a broken grid as Houstonians seethe
Beryl exposed how vulnerable the electric infrastructure is to failure, leaving residents angry and at risk. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
“They need to fix something quick”: Texans without power for days are getting angry
Nearly a million Texans were still without power on Friday. And the utility company with the most outages was facing threats of violence. Full Story
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![Seby Godinho and Jack Souza run a convenience store without electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Oyster Creek, Texas, on July 9, 2024.]()
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What’s the value of planting trees? Conservation groups say a new formula can tell them.
Donors are increasingly asking conservation groups to produce data on the value of their environmental work. A group’s new method helps them show their impact. Full Story
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![Jasper, Texas: An overhead view of Huff Creek Road and the bridge where James Byrd Jr. was beaten and chained May 29, 2023 in Jasper, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
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Days after Beryl, Texans toil to cope with debris, heat, rain and no power
More than 1 million Texans still don’t have electricity. For those hardest hit by Beryl, the wait will stretch into next week. Full Story
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![Community members drop off donated goods such as water and food to the Sargent Fire Department on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Matagorda County.]()
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CenterPoint exudes chaos, but also appears to be restoring power faster than it previously has
According to state filings, the utility is restoring power at a relatively quicker pace than after prior storms. Texans are still fed up. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Millions of Texans face third day without power in summer heat
Power companies and Texas officials say restoration efforts could take days. Experts say Texans without electricity are facing a dangerous situation. Full Story
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![Electric workers gather supplies to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
How to make your Texas home more energy efficient and get money from the government
Federal tax incentives are available to weatherize your house and switch to more energy efficient appliances. Rebates are coming. Full Story
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![Solar panels can be seen on the roofs of homes Sunday, July 7, 2024 in East Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune